A bunch of stories posted here over the years where the lost people throw away their rifle and start stripping off their clothes, even boots, and are found practically naked. WTF??? Any definitive reason why they do things that stack the deck against their survival???
Pure panic... It happened to a neighbor of mine about 35+ years ago.. He and his party were hunting deer in northern WI.. As they were driving to a new area, they happened upon an elderly man literally running naked out of the woods! He had gotten lost, panicked and literally did what you described - dropped the rifle, tried to find his way outta this woods (about 7x15 miles in area) and got hot when running.. Got rid of the clothes and kept running.. When they got to him he was nearly literally foaming at the mouth in fear.. They got him in the truck, warmed him up and drove as fast as they could to the nearest hospital..
It does happen..
